Archives: Agenda

• AI promises to transform audit, but to deploy it effectively firms must not skip the data layer.
• Why independent, direct-source verification is the prerequisite for any AI capability worth trusting.
• What good looks like in 2026 audit ops:
  • Reliable, direct-from-source data as a foundation
  • Standardised engagement workflows
  • Real-time oversight across teams
  • Meaningful, independently verified, AI-powered insights.

• Mid-tier renaissance: moving from compliance-only to a data-led advisory model at scale.
• People-first technology: using systems to empower teams, standardise delivery, and improve client experience, not “shiny tools”.
• Change at speed: lessons from Azets’ expansion and rebrand, how to operationalise agility while protecting margin and quality.

• AI is raising the stakes; deciding what to automate, what stays human-led, and how to spot/challenge AI errors fast.
• The “Super Accountant”; strong critical/ ethical judgment, AI power-user skills, agile, people-first leadership.
• Leadership against the backdrop of rapid tech transformation; ensuring inclusivity and diversity are embedded within cross-functional teams.
• How to measure the impact of learning and a retain focus on its value in an agile, AI-driven profession.

• When a transformative technology arrived in American factories, owners adopted it immediately — and stalled for thirty years. The technology wasn’t the problem. The thinking was.
• AI in accounting is at exactly the same inflection point. And most firms are making the same mistake.
• A technology executive’s outside view on why the profession’s biggest competitive advantage in the AI era has nothing to do with AI.

• Value in volatility: how firms orchestrate pricing, delivery and client outcomes as AI shifts work from hours to results.
• People + trust: retaining data-literate talent (“stay” interviews) and governing AI ethics/liability as regulation tightens.
• Resilience at scale: navigating geopolitical fracture and regionalisation, how ecosystems/networks help firms and clients adapt faster.

Moderator: Susannah Streeter, Global Financial Commentator & Chief Investment Strategist, Wealth Club